20110817 0950 Global Commodities Related News.

Corn (Source: CME)
U.S. corn bounced in unison with wheat futures, with the Dec contract rising to a new high for the second consecutive day. The market drew support from crop uncertainties and fear of a potential decline in the amount of harvested U.S. acres. Traders began to factor in the potential for more corn acres lost to preventative planting, raising fear that corn harvested acres will drop from current levels, analysts say. Industry analysts are concerned about any drop in crop potential, particularly with new-crop corn's end-of-year supplies already projected at precariously tight levels by government forecasters. CBOT Dec corn end up 7 1/2c or 1% at $7.27 1/2/bushel.

Wheat (Source: CME)
U.S. wheat futures rally, triggering a broad recovery in grain futures, with Minneapolis spring wheat soaring to two-month highs on crop and acreage concerns. The combination of disappointing yield reports from spring wheat harvests and concerns that US will harvest less acres amid higher amounts of acres farmers took preventative planting insurance on, sparked fear of smaller crop potential, analysts say. Minneapolis spring wheat drew the most attention, as many traders believe an increase in prevent-plant acres will come from areas that seem to be heavy spring wheat/durum acres. MGEX Sept wheat end up 2.7% at $8.96 1/4/bushel, CBOT Sept wheat end up 1.7% at $7.24 3/4.

Rice (Source: CME)
US rice futures end modestly higher, supported by crop uncertainties after summer heat was believed to have hurt crops in the southern US, analysts say. Stable crop ratings reduced fears of further yield losses, a feature that pushed futures in and out of positive territory. CBOT Nov rice ends up 1 1/2c or 0.1% at $17.38/hundredweight.

US wheat down 0.5 pct after 5-day rally; corn, soy ease
SINGAPORE, Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures fell 0.5 percent, snapping a five-day rising streak as a firm dollar and weaker crude oil weighed.
"For the time being the crop condition is steady and forecast this morning not overly worrying which is helping to alleviate crop concerns," said Brett Cooper, a senior manager of markets at FCStone Australia.

Mozambique offers Brazilian farmers land to plant
SAO PAULO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Mozambique invites Brazilian soy, corn and cotton growers to plant on its savanna and introduce their farming know-how to sub-Saharan Africa, the head of Mato Grosso state's cotton producers association Ampa said on Monday.
Brazil has been successfully growing crops on its center-west plains since a breakthrough in tropical soybeans in the 1980s unlocked the productive potential of the expansive region by breeding soy to grow closer to equatorial regions.

Analyst raises Ukraine '11 grain crop, exports fcast
KIEV, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Analyst UkrAgroConsult raised on  Tuesday its forecast for Ukraine's 2011 grain harvest to 46.256  million tonnes from the previous outlook of 44.117 million due  to an increase in crops of maize, wheat and barley.
The higher harvest, UkrAgroConsult said, would allow Ukraine to export 22.3 million tonnes of grain in the 2011/12 season  against 12.7 million tonnes in 2010/11.

US crop ratings seen steady as weather improves
CHICAGO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - U.S. corn and soybean ratings were expected to hold steady after rainy and cooler weather in the Midwest stabilized the crops, which had been suffering throughout a dry hot summer.
"The cool down, a little more normal rain pattern certainly is benefiting the crops," said Rich Nelson, director of research for Allendale Inc.
The U.S. Agriculture Department's weekly crop progress report due Monday afternoon was forecast to show a corn crop rated 60 percent good to excellent, based on the average of estimates given by eight analysts.

Ukraine 2011 grain crop at 33.7 mln T as of Aug 15
KIEV, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Ukraine's farms harvested 33.7 million tonnes of grain bunker weight as of August 15 and the grain yield averaged 3.05 tonne per hectare, the Agriculture Ministry said on Monday.
Farmers have threshed 11.1 million hectares or 98 percent of the sown area of early grains.
The ministry said in a report that the harvested volume included 9.4 million tonnes of barley and 22.8 million of wheat.

W.Canada farmers start winter wheat, barley harvest
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Western Canadian farmers have harvested about 30 percent of winter wheat and 2 percent of the barley crop, the Canadian Wheat Board said on Monday in its weekly bulletin.
Warm temperatures have accelerated crop development and some harvesting of spring wheat has begun in some areas, the board said.

Philippines trims 2011 rice fcast, still sees record crop
MANILA, Aug 15 (Reuters) - The Philippines' unmilled rice output is set to hit a record 17.29 million tonnes this year, although that is slightly lower than earlier forecasts, underpinning solid farm-sector growth in the first half of 2011, the government said on Monday.
The crop forecast backs the Southeast Asian country's decision to sharply cut back imports of the national staple, having been the world's largest rice buyer in recent years.

China Ministry: Drought Has No Impact On Autumn Grain Output -Radio  (Source: CME)
Dry weather conditions in some Chinese provinces won't result in reduced autumn grain output, as crops are generally growing well, state radio reported, citing an official from the Ministry of Agriculture. Around 4.5 million hectares of farmland is affected by drought, about 13% less than during the same period last year and about 31% less than the five-year average between 2006 and 2010, Hu Yuankun, the deputy director of the ministry's crop farming department, said. China has about 107 million hectares of farmland. Most drought-hit farmland is in areas that aren't major grain producers, such as the southwestern provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan.

Food Commodities Protected From Global Economic Turmoil- Distinction  (Source: CME)
Food commodity markets should stay immune to any further deterioration in the macroeconomic environment this year as tight fundamentals continue to support price levels, Patrick Armstrong, managing partner of Distinction Asset Management, said. Armstrong said tight fundamentals will ensure food commodities are protected from any downturn in the global economy, especially in grain markets such as corn and wheat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture last week announced cuts to its forecasts for U.S. corn and wheat production for this year after adverse weather took its toll on planting for all crops. Damaging heat took its toll on corn fields in July while excessive rains hampered wheat planting in the northern plains this spring, the USDA said in its monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report.
Still, given the recent volatility in commodity markets triggered by a downgrade of the U.S. government's credit rating by Standard & Poor's Corp. and ongoing concerns about the growing European debt crisis, "we have reduced by 1% our portfolio exposure that lies with agriculture in our most aggressive and tactical portfolio, and maintained the weight in our more conservative portfolios," Armstrong said. At present, 5% of Distinction's aggressive portfolio exposure now lies with agriculture. Armstrong said although agriculture remained a preferred area, the asset manager is currently building up cash positions in that portfolio rather than investing cash that arrive into funds. Distinction asset management said it expects corn, wheat and soybeans to see the most future upside. Bullish fundamentals for corn are supportive for wheat prices as both are used for feed grains.

World Bank: High Food Prices Leading To Starvation In Africa (Source: CME)
Record-high food prices are hitting the poorest people hard in the Horn of Africa, where thousands are dying and millions are starving or on the edge of starvation, the World Bank said in a report. "Nowhere are high food prices, poverty and instability combining to produce tragic suffering more than in the Horn of Africa," said World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick. In the last three months, 29,000 children under the age of five have died and 600,000 "remain at risk," according to the report. Agriculture ministers of the Group of 20 industrialized and emerging nations, including the U.S., met in June and hashed out an agreement they said will help stabilize international food price volatility as well as improve the way countries distribute food aid. The G-20 ministers agreed to create a global database to compile information on food production and set up emergency food reserves located near vulnerable regions in the world.
Zoellick said Monday that situation is dire and help is needed in the short term, as well and medium and long term. "We are stepping up to address this crisis with a sense of urgency," he said. Out of 3.7 million people in Somalia, the World Bank said in the report, 3.2 million people "are in urgent need" of help. Global food prices, as of July, were 33% higher than they were a year ago, according to World Bank data, corn prices up 84%, sugar up 62%, wheat up 55% and soybean oil up 47%. "The World Bank is stepping up with short-term help through safety nets to the poor and the vulnerable in places like Kenya and Ethiopia, along with medium-term support for economic recovery," Zoellick said. "Long-term support is also critical to build drought resilience and implement climate-smart farming."

Smucker Cuts Coffee Prices, Cites Decline In Futures (Source: CME)
J.M. Smucker Co. is cutting prices on Folgers and Dunkin Donuts bagged coffee, electing to use the recent pullback in green coffee prices to chase market share rather than pad margins. In a surprise move, the company said it cut coffee prices on its brands by an average of 6%, a move coming after a year in which the company raised prices a total of 23% due to rapidly rising costs. "If [Smucker] is making this move, it's not on speculation," said a commercial coffee trader. "It means that they're well-covered, and even with the 6% decrease, it might squeeze their margins, [but] they feel like they're going to make it up with a pick up in the competition." Smucker appears to be the first major coffee roaster to cut prices, which could put pressure on competitors like Kraft Foods Inc., which owns Maxwell House, and Starbucks Corp. to respond by either lowering prices or increasing promotions. A Kraft Foods spokeswoman, Bridget MacConnell, said the company hasn't announced any price cuts on coffee.
Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz, speaking on CNBC, said the coffee giant has locked in its coffee inventory for all of 2012, a long buying period that ensures stability but doesn't benefit as much when costs fall. Schultz said Starbucks will look at cutting prices on some items and will rely on its loyalty program to offer customers deals. "We are looking for certain ways we can lower [prices on] certain items," Schultz said. The coffee trader, who has worked with Starbucks, said since the company charges more for its coffee and has greater margins, Starbucks is in a better position to be "long and wrong" if prices fall. Smucker's tends to buy green coffee in 18- to 22-week intervals, Smucker President Vincent Byrd said on the company's June earnings call, a shorter time frame that allows it to adjust prices based on costs. The strategy can force the company to raise prices faster when costs increase but also can allow it to take advantage of declines.
Green coffee is unroasted beans, the form in which the crop is generally exported from producer nations and traded on the IntercontinentalExchange. Smucker's price cuts come as consumers face a fresh batch of economic jitters over debt concerns in the U.S. and the prospect of a prolonged economic weakness. Food manufacturers, who have been raising prices in the face of higher costs, have expressed caution about the ultimate pushback from consumers. Coffee makers have been among the more aggressive players in raising the prices of their products, as they have been under pressure over the past year as green coffee prices rose rapidly. In May, Starbucks increased retail prices 17% on bagged coffee sold in its cafes.
But recently, coffee makers have had a break. Benchmark arabica coffee futures on IntercontinentalExchange have fallen nearly 20% since hitting a 14-year peak above $3 a pound in early May, as concerns over supplies waned during Brazil's harvest. Prices could fall even further, analysts say, when other major growers in Latin America start their harvests in the last quarter of this year.

Sugar to Climb 6% as Brazilian Crop Slides Amid Chinese, Indonesian Demand (Source: Bloomberg)
Sugar may advance 6 percent by December as China, the second-biggest user, and Indonesia replenish stockpiles and the crop declines in Brazil. Futures in New York could gain to 29 cents a pound, according to the median in a Bloomberg News survey of eight exporters, importers and traders at a conference in Cebu, the Philippines. October-delivery traded at 27.36 cents today. More expensive sugar may bolster near-record global food costs and make it harder for central bankers and policy makers to curb inflation. Food prices are close to their peak in 2008, with corn and sugar helping fuel a 33 percent gain in the past year, according to the World Bank. That may worsen the lives of the 1.1 billion the bank says live on less than $1 a day.

Sugar, coffee slip, macroeconomic worries weigh
LONDON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - ICE sugar and coffee futures eased in early trade, with investors jittery as stock markets resumed their decline on global economic growth concerns.
ICE October raw sugar futures were slightly lower, as risk averse investor sentiment weighed on the commodities complex following deepening worries over the macroeconomic outlook.

Indonesia 2011/12 sugar imports seen at 2.84 mln T-assoc
CEBU, Philippines, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Indonesia's sugar imports for 2011/12 are projected at 2.841 million tonnes, up from 2.482 million tonnes in 2010/11, chairman of the Indonesian Sugar Association (AGI) said on Tuesday.
Asked if Indonesia would buy from countries such as India and the Philippines, which have a surplus of the sweetener, Fakruk Bakrie said: "It depends on the price."

Vietnam's new coffee crop to arrive in October-farmers
HANOI, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Fresh Vietnamese robusta beans are expected to arrive in October, a month earlier than usual for the new crop, and output should be high thanks to favourable rainy weather, coffee farmers and an analyst said on Tuesday.
"This year the harvest will be early, and the weather has been very good," said a farmer in the key growing province of Daklak. The province produces a third of Vietnam's coffee.

Odd weather sours start of Cameroon cocoa season
YAOUNDE, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Drought, hail and downpours in different parts of Cameroon have soured the start of the cocoa season in the world's No. 5 grower -- driving down quality, volumes and prices, farmers said on Monday.
The bumpy start to the year-long growing season in the central African state, which began Aug. 1, follows a record-sized 2010-11 crop that yielded around 236,000 tonnes.

Ivorian cocoa arrivals seen 23 pct above last season
ABIDJAN, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast reached around 1,386,000 tonnes by Aug. 14, exporters estimated on Monday, 23 percent more than in the same period of the previous season.
The figure compared with 1,125,046 tonnes by this stage of the 2009/10 crop.

India's Genetically Modified Cotton Area Seen Up In 2011-12 - Minister (Source: CME)
India's area under cultivation of genetically modified cotton is expected to be 9.5 million hectares during this crop year, slightly more than last year, according to data presented by junior farm minister Harish Rawat in parliament. The area under genetically modified cotton in 2010-11 was 9.3 million hectares, while the area in 2011-12 is likely to jump more than 40% from 2008-09, when it was at 6.69 million hectares. Farmers in India, the world's second-largest producer and exporter of the natural fiber, have brought an increasing area under genetically modified cotton since the technology was introduced in the country in 2002. Genetically modified cotton contains a gene that fights bollworm. The value of biotech crops is debated worldwide, with advocates saying they offer a vast improvement in output, while critics warn of the possible emergence of new toxins and allergens.
Several Indian state-owned farm institutes, private seed companies and universities are conducting trials on genetically modified mustard, rice, potatoes and tobacco. More than 90% of the country's output of cotton is from genetically modified crops, according to industry officials. India's total cotton plantings rose to 10.99 million hectares as of Aug. 5 from 10.43 million hectares, according to the latest data from the farm ministry.

Philippines to export more sugar, buyers scarce
CEBU, Philippines, Aug 16 (Reuters) - The Philippines aims to sell more than 300,000 tonnes of sugar this year, including refined sugar, about 100,000 tonnes above a previous target, but traders said it will be difficult to find buyers for the lower-quality sweetener.
Agriculture minister Proceso Alcala also said on Tuesday   the Southeast Asian country expects to close the 2010/11 season in end-August with 780,000 tonnes of sugar stocks.

Asia's demand offers relief to world sugar surplus
CEBU, Philippines, Aug 15 (Reuters) - The global sugar market will see a sizeable surplus in the next crop year but rising Asian demand, led by China, and lower-than-expected output in top exporter Brazil may offer opportunity for producers to expand sales, industry officials said.
Demand from China and Indonesia, which together account for about 3 percent of world sugar production, could help ease the surplus estimated at around 4 million tonnes in the crop year to September 2012, the International Sugar Organization (ISO) said.

Indonesia sees savings with India sugar imports
JAKARTA, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Increased production and cheaper freight costs will enable India to become a leading sugar exporter to Indonesia from next year, the Indonesian Sugar Association (AGI) said on Monday.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest sugar consumer, currently imports 60 percent of its sugar from Thailand, 20 percent from Brazil and 10 percent from Australia, Colo Sewoko, acting secretary for the AGI told Reuters.

Oil Climbs From Two-Day Low as Drop in U.S. Fuel Stockpiles Signals Demand (Source: Bloomberg)
Oil advanced from a two-day low in New York as investors bet that shrinking fuel stockpiles in the U.S. indicate demand will increase in the world’s biggest crude- consuming nation. Futures climbed as much as 0.7 percent after the industry- funded American Petroleum Institute said gasoline supplies fell the most in five months. An Energy Department report today may show gasoline and crude inventories slid last week. U.S. producer prices may have rebounded in July. The drop in gasoline stockpiles is “price supportive, there’s no doubt about it, but I don’t think you can read too much into it at the moment,” said Jonathan Barratt, a managing director of Commodity Broking Services Pty in Sydney, who predicts oil in New York will average $100 a barrel this year. “I’d prefer to see what the Energy Department come out with. The market will watch to see how we go with producer prices and the inventory data.”

Crude Oil Futures Decline as Investors Speculate Global Economy Is Slowing (Source: Bloomberg)
Oil dropped from the highest in almost two weeks in New York after Germany’s economy all but stagnated in the second quarter, heightening concern that fuel consumption will diminish. Futures slid as much as 1.8 percent today after Germany’s Federal Statistics Office said gross domestic product, adjusted for seasonal effects, rose 0.1 percent from the first quarter. Growth across Europe slowed more than economists forecast. U.S. builders began work on fewer homes in July, indicating residential real estate is failing to contribute to growth. The Energy Department may say tomorrow U.S. crude oil stockpiles declined to a five-month low.
“The overall picture is that worldwide economic activity is slowing down a bit, and of course that’s bearish for oil,” said Sintje Diek, an analyst at HSH Nordbank in Hamburg who correctly predicted that Brent prices would fall to $100 this summer. “There are fears the recovery in the euro zone will be very sluggish because of the debt crisis. Maybe we’ll see lower prices than $100.”

Brent slips on weak global data, firm dollar
LONDON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures fell on Tuesday, after rising nearly $2 a the previous day, as worries about global economic growth and a stronger dollar reduced appetite for risky assets.
"All eyes are on this European meeting today, so it's going to be rather choppy and volatile ahead of that," GFT Global market strategist David Morrison said. "(Oil is) reacting to the weakness in the euro, the strength in the dollar, and there is a general risk-off mode ... traders taking money off the table."

Taiwan June crude imports down 2.2 pct from May
SINGAPORE, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Taiwan's June crude imports dipped 2.2 percent from May as softer refining margins depressed demand for Middle Eastern crude, with imports from Saudi Arabia falling over 18 percent, government data showed on Tuesday.  
June crude volumes stood at 24.1 million barrels, down from May's 24.4 million barrels, with Taiwan's CPC seen cancelling its condensate and sweet crude tenders for July-delivery due to high offers.

POLL-U.S. crude stockpiles seen down on lower imports
BANGALORE/NEW YORK, Aug 15 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil stockpiles are expected to have fallen for a second straight week due to lower imports, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday ahead of weekly inventory data.
Four of eight analysts polled expected a drop in crude stockpiles for the week to Aug. 12, with the average forecast a drawdown of 300,000 barrels.

Confidence in oil tanker market at all-time low-Frontline
SINGAPORE, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Confidence in the crude oil tanker industry has tumbled to an all-time low, with a growing number of shipowners mulling whether to pull their vessels from the market, the top executive of the world's largest independent tanker operator told Reuters.
Economic turmoil in the West and slowing global oil demand growth have pushed tanker market freight rates, already struggling with a supply glut, to unprecedented lows.  

China steel mills raise Sept product prices as demand picks up
SHANGHAI, Aug 16 (Reuters) - More of China's leading steel mills have decided to raise prices of their main products for September bookings, aiming to catch up with rising spot market prices and in anticipation of stronger demand next month.  
Two leading mills, Wuhan Iron & Steel Co Ltd  and Beijing Shougang Co Ltd , will raise September prices for their main flat steel products in the wake of a similar move by Baoshan Iron & Steel Co Ltd (Baosteel)  last Friday to take advantage of growing demand.

Australia's OneSteel year profit slips, sees flat H1
MELBOURNE, Aug 16 (Reuters) - OneSteel , Australia's second-largest steelmaker, posted a full-year profit down 2.5 percent, with pressure from a strong Australian dollar crimping domestic steel margins and volumes, and said the outlook for domestic construction was weak.
The steelmaker said on Tuesday it expects production and operating levels in the first half to be flat and it has started a review of its product portfolio.

Keeping more iron ore at home, India exports seen halved
SINGAPORE/MUMBAI, Aug 15 (Reuters) - India's iron ore exports, which fell for the first time in a decade last year, could halve over the next five years as the country feeds the expansion of its steel industry.
Lower shipments from the world's No. 3 exporter should help bolster prices that have already more than trebled from late 2008, as massive increases in global supply are only expected to come through by 2015 and demand from top consumer China rises.

U.S. brass mill imports, exports rise in June yr/yr
NEW YORK, Aug 15 (Reuters) - U.S. imports of brass mill products rose by 9.4 percent in June compared with June 2010, and exports firmed 2.8 percent from the year-ago period, an industry group said on Monday.
Imports of brass mill products into the United States in June grew to 45,629,054 lbs from 41,699,101 in the corresponding period in 2010, the Copper and Brass Fabricators Council said in its monthly report.

Copper use grows more than expected in 2011-Brook Hunt
LONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Global copper demand will grow by 5.4 percent this year, exceeding predictions made at the start of the year, despite lower than expected offtake in top consumer China and the impact of the earthquake in Japan, Brook Hunt said on Monday.
World demand for copper -- used in power and construction -- will reach 20.3 million tonnes in 2011, helped by stronger than anticipated growth in Europe and the United States.

Cautious copper product users hold back orders -Luvata
LONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Financial turmoil and potentially serious damage to global economic growth have unnerved consumers, many of which are now waiting longer to place orders, international copper product maker Luvata told Reuters on Monday.
Ian Scarlett, Luvata's head of metals, said the backlog on the company's order book had fallen and that buyers of copper products had become a lot more nervous in the last few weeks as  the U.S. and euro zone debt crisis escalated.

Zambia copper output falls in Jan-July -central bank
LUSAKA, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Copper output in Zambia, Africa's top producer of the metal, decreased to 472,891 tonnes in January-July 2011, compared with 478,734 tonnes in the same period a year earlier, the central bank said on Monday.
Copper exports also fell to 469,260 tonnes in the first seven months of this year, from 472,012 a year earlier,  the central bank said in a fortnightly report.

China copper imports seen rising in Q4 as arbitrage opens
HONG KONG, Aug 16 (Reuters) - China's refined copper arrivals may rise in the forth quarter as importers raise spot bookings after the arbitrage window between the three-month London Metal Exchange and Shanghai opened earlier this month, traders said on Tuesday.
But the country's tight credit policy would restrict extra bookings, unlike the last two years when attractive arbitrage ratios and China's loose monetary policy boosted imports to record highs, they said.

Copper Declines on Speculation China, U.S. Slowdown Set to Reduce Demand (Source: Bloomberg)
Copper declined on speculation that a moderating Chinese economy and sluggish U.S. recovery may damp demand for the metal in the world’s two largest users. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 0.7 percent to $8,850.25 per metric ton, and was at $8,852 at 2:36 p.m. in Shanghai. The metal for December delivery on the Comex lost 0.9 percent to $4.0185 per pound. China is “significantly moderating,” Bart van Ark, The Conference Board’s chief economist, told Bloomberg Television from New York today. The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for China has slowed “quite significantly” over the past few months, van Ark said. The gauge rose 1 percent to 158.9 in June, according to data from the New York-based research organization.

METALS-Copper slips on firm dollar, weak economic outlook
LONDON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Copper slipped on Tuesday, reversing the previous session's gains, as the dollar rose against a basket of currencies and attention returned to the uncertain outlook for the global economy, prompting investors to stay cautious and reduce their exposure to assets perceived as risky.
Benchmark copper  on the London Metal Exchange was traded at $8,780 in official rings, down from Monday's close of $8,909.

PRECIOUS-Gold rises 0.6 pct as euro zone jitters resurface
LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose on Tuesday as concerns over the financial health of the euro zone resurfaced ahead of a summit in Paris between French and German leaders, at which they will try to thrash out a solution to the bloc's debt crisis.
Poorly-received German and euro zone growth data stoked concerns the region may be far from recovering its economic footing, pushing both the euro and European shares lower, and boosting the appeal of so-called safe havens like gold and the Swiss franc.

Gold Surge to Record Creates a ‘Bubble Poised to Burst,’ Wells Fargo Says  (Source: Bloomberg)
Speculative demand from investors has pushed the gold market into a “bubble that is poised to burst” after prices surged to a record this year, Wells Fargo & Co. said. “We have seen the economic damage” of past bubbles and “feel compelled to ring the warning bells,” Wells Fargo analysts led by Dean Junkans said in a report dated yesterday and e-mailed today. Gold futures have advanced 26 percent this year, following 10 straight annual gains. The price reached a record $1,817.60 an ounce on Aug. 11 on demand for an investment haven as European and U.S. sovereign-debt woes escalated.

Singh’s Port Plan Targets China’s 7 Days With $60 Billion: Freight Markets  (Source: Bloomberg)
India aims to pour $60 billion into ports by 2020 under a drive to spur the fastest growth in more than two decades and ease bottlenecks stoking the highest inflation among major economies. The target is part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s planned $1 trillion revamp of choked transport and power networks to achieve faster expansion. The push must transcend a history of insufficient investment, which has left the world’s most populous democracy trailing a Chinese economy now more than three times larger. “If there isn’t enough capacity, you lose time and it adds to cost,” said Leif Eskesen, a Singapore-based economist at HSBC Holdings Plc who worked at the International Monetary Fund. “India is poised for continued strong growth over the medium and long term, but further reforms are a must to bring sustained double-digit growth within reach.”